Sweet Casatiello from Campania with Royal Icing
I love this delicious, fragrant, and festive Easter cake.
The sweet casatiello from Campania is very soft and uniquely delicious.
The “criscito” (or fermented dough) can be requested from your trusted baker or replaced with sourdough (in this case, since the yeast must be very active, before using it, you must refresh it 3 times with the same flour as the recipe). You can also use licoli; in this case, use 300g of licoli instead of 400g of criscito and increase the flour to 1120g and reduce the milk to 220 grams. If the licoli is already refreshed, you can use it with other ingredients.
If you’re looking for more recipes (sweet and savory) for Easter, click on my “Easter Recipes Special“
- Difficulty: Medium
- Rest time: 12 Hours
- Preparation time: 35 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Easter
Ingredients for Sweet Casatiello from Campania (for 1 casatiello 9.5 inches)
- 4 cups cups All-purpose flour (with strong W, I use Caputo manitoba)
- 5 Eggs (medium, at room temperature)
- 1 1/3 cups cups Sugar
- 7 oz oz "criscito" (fermented dough or sourdough that needs to be refreshed 3 times with the same flour before using)
- 1 1/2 tsp tsp Fresh yeast
- 5 oz oz Lard
- 1/2 cup cup Whole milk
- 1 tsp tsp Fine salt
- Half shot Cointreau
- 1 Lemon zest
- 1 Orange zest
- 1 bottle Orange blossom water (1 vial)
- 2 tablespoons Vanilla extract
- to taste Candied citron (optional)
- 2 Egg whites
- 4 cups cups Powdered sugar
- 4 teaspoons Lemon juice
- 1 bottle Orange blossom water (1 vial)
- 1 tbsp tablespoon Cointreau
- to taste Colored sprinkles (and small chocolate eggs, for decoration)
Tools
- Stand Mixer Kenwood with a whopping 1400 W power, illuminated bowl
- Mixer electric Philips, with a huge 450 W power
Preparation for the Dough of Sweet Casatiello from Campania
In a stand mixer, beat the eggs well with the sugar.
In a separate bowl, dissolve the “criscito” and the yeast with the lukewarm milk until all lumps are gone; then add it to the egg mixture and mix well.
Add to the egg mixture: the flour, salt, lard, vanilla, liqueur, orange blossom, and grated lemon and orange peels; vigorously work the dough for about 20 minutes with the paddle attachment (the last 10 minutes with the hook).
The dough is ready when it starts to “puff”, air bubbles form, and it becomes more elastic.
At this point, add the chopped candied citron (optional) and mix just to combine. Let the dough rest in the covered bowl for about 2 hours.
Pour the dough into a tall conical mold with a diameter of 9.5 inches (fill the mold to 1/3 of its capacity); cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a draft-free place well covered.
The rising of the sweet casatiello depends on the outside temperature and may vary, I took 12 hours, the casatielli are ready for baking when they almost reach the edge of the mold and bubbles start to appear on the surface (as in the photo).
Bake in a preheated static oven at 375°F for about 60 minutes, after 50 minutes you can do the skewer test, remove from oven only when it comes out dry. Once removed from the oven, when cold, proceed with the decoration.
Prepare the royal icing just before serving and then keep it always covered to prevent it from drying out.
Preparation of the royal icing: In a bowl, mix the powdered sugar with the egg whites and 4 teaspoons of filtered lemon juice, beat well with the beaters until you have a shiny glaze.
Decorate the casatielli with the prepared icing and sprinkle them with sprinkles and/or small colored eggs.
Shopping Tips !!!
To knead perfectly, I use my Titanium Chef Patissier XL stand mixer with illuminated bowl, 7L, integrated scale and blender, 1400 W power, a faithful kitchen ally for: kneading, weighing, whipping, cooking, chopping, pasteurizing eggs.
If instead, you are looking for a more affordable and smaller stand mixer model, you can safely choose to purchase the excellent Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker XL, 1200W power, 5l bowl and integrated scale.
To cook my sweet casatiello from Campania, I used the typical conical mold with a diameter of 9.5 inches, which you can purchase on Amazon by clicking HERE.
How to store Sweet Casatiello?
The sweet casatiello from Campania, thanks to the presence of “criscito”, keeps well for 7-10 days in a food bag.
